Editing Lady Katherine Grey (section)

==Prospective royal heir under Mary I and Elizabeth I==
During the first phase of Queen Mary I's reign, Katherine was senior heir-in-line to the throne as Mary was yet unmarried and her younger sister Elizabeth was regarded as illegitimate.<ref>Chapman, p. 169.</ref> Demoted when Elizabeth was declared heir, Katherine's claim came to the fore again when Queen Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in November 1558. At one point the Queen was apparently contemplating Katherine as a potential Protestant heir, with rumours of a possible adoption, but any such development was terminated upon Katherine's clandestine marriage to [[Earl of Hertford|Lord Hertford]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Sisters of Lady Jane Grey, by Richard Davey.|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49265/49265-h/49265-h.htm|access-date=2021-01-26|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref>